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Ongoing Crisis in the Horn of Africa

Looking to the Future

In 2011, a catastrophic drought struck the Horn of Africa, affecting Somalia, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Djibouti and Kenya. CARE continues its work there, helping communities become increasingly resilient for the future.

Fighting Poverty & Drought with Honeybees

Nuriya, an Ethiopian mother of six children, has been able to make ends meet on her own since her husband passed away 11 years ago. By farming bees, a trade usually engaged by men, Nuriya is able to provide for her family.

Blogs From the Horn of Africa

Visit our Notes From the Field blog for first-hand accounts of the food crisis in the Horn of Africa and read stories about the assistance CARE has been providing to communities and refugees across the region.

The Horn of Africa Food and Refugee Crisis

SEPTEMBER 2013 UPDATE

Conditions in the Horn of Africa have improved. The number of people suffering from hunger is now at its lowest since famine was declared in parts of southern Somalia in 2011. The fall in the food insecure population is the result of several successive seasons of average to above average rainfall, low food prices, increased livestock prices, increased livestock herd sizes, and sustained humanitarian response. Despite improvements in food security, acute malnutrition rates continue to remain very high, especially in the South. An estimated 870,000 people will be in a state of food crisis from August to December 2013. An estimated additional 2.3 million people, one-third of Somalia’s population, are classified as stressed, and their food security remains fragile. Reports released this month indicate, during the peak of the crisis, 258,000 people died in Somalia from hunger and related causes, and half of them were children younger than 5 years old.

Overall, progress is being made in the region, and some refugees are slowly returning to their homes. With this opportunity to break the hunger cycle, efforts to provide long-term solutions to hunger and poverty are important. CARE continues to work in Somalia, Ethiopia and Kenya to meet immediate needs and help communities become increasingly resilient for the future. CARE is also continuing to provide aid to more than 400,000 refugees in Dadaab, Kenya, the largest refugee camp in the world.